The Australian Chinese Music Ensemble

The Australian Chinese Music Ensemble is a professional Chinese music ensemble in Australia. With the Chinese Government opening its doors to the West, a wider spectrum of talented artists made their way to Australia making possible the establishment of a professional music ensemble, comprising educated musicians who were previously established in their profession in China. Although the ensemble's activities have involved both the Chinese and general communities within Australia, its performances have been more directed to the general community. The ensemble has its own distinctive characteristics. Its high standard of musical skill and mastery of both traditional and contemporary Chinese music enabled the ensemble to achieve a high reputation in the ethnic communities whilst touring around Australia. It also provided the ensemble with the opportunity to appear frequently on media programs. The ensemble has experimented in amalgamating Eastern and Western musical aspects, which is still a continuing developmental direction in their music. The experiences and achievements of the Australian Chinese Music Ensemble have shown the potential for immigrant Chinese to succeed in their profession in Australia. Other ethnic music groups could possibly be encouraged by the success of the ensemble to achieve similar results.

Established in early 1989, the ensemble was originally know as the Wang Zheng-Ting Ensemble, and/or the Melbourne Chinese Music Ensemble. However, in 1991 the ensemble registered as 'The Australian Chinese Music Ensemble' at the Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs in Melbourne.

In the beginning, the ensemble's activities were restricted to the Chinese community, usually performing for Chinese festivals. With the help of Susan Fain, the executive officer of the Multicultural Council of Victoria, the ensemble made contact with ABC Music Deli. The first recording with Music Deli was on the 17th of August 1989. There were only three musicians for this recording; Wang Zheng-Ting, Julian Yu and Andy Chen (Chen Baitao), respectively playing sheng, erhu, and sanxian ( lute). 'The performance went very well, and the results were broadcast the following night on "Music Deli", with many appreciative comments from interested listeners' (a letter from Stephen Snelleman, 21st August 1989, to the International Language Centre).

Because the recording was so successful, the ensemble was invited by Music Deli to participate in a concert for Music Deli as a part of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. The concert was held on 29th September 1989, in the Toorak Uniting Church, with the ensemble performing for approximately 10 minutes as part of a live broadcast of 90 minutes. A subsequent article described the Chinese music for this concert:

No one could have been prepared, either, for the sight of three business-suited Chinese musicians, Wang Zheng-Ting, Julian Yu, and Andy Chen, serious as thunderbirds, playing Chinese traditional music on the sheng (a bundle of bamboo pipes with a mouthpiece which works like an organ) and two stringed instruments, bowed and plucked. The fragility and perfection of their music took the whole audience into uncharted territory, especially Wang Zheng- Ting's passionate and absorbing work on sheng (Doug Kesselring, Juke, 28th October 1989:28).

This performance helped promote the ensemble's great popularity in ethnic music circles. It further encouraged the ensemble to direct and develop a blend of traditional and contemporary music towards the general community. Invitations for performances became more frequent. Within the first year of the ensemble's establishment, it was invited to play at major festivals in Melbourne, including the Melbourne International Festival and the Piccolo Spoleto, further promoting the profile of the ensemble.

In order to make itself more attractive to the general community, and to enable flexibility and a greater repertoire of music to be performed, the ensemble needed to extend its size or else incorporate new instruments and sounds. The continuous influx of Chinese students from mainland China made this possible, since amongst them were some high standard Chinese musicians. In different periods the following musicians have played with the ensemble: Dong Qiuming, Li Jun (dizi); Wang Zheng- Ting (sheng); Cai Chunsheng, Shen Pangeng, Su Qi and Julian Yu (erhu); Chen Wenjie (pipa, ruan); Chen Wenxiang, Hu Ping, Zhang Ningna (yangqin); Yang Mu (qin); Li Li, Wang Yuehu (zheng). Currently, the ensemble consists of six musicians: Chen Wenjie, Dong Qiuming, Shen Pangeng, Wang Yuehua, Wang Zheng-Ting and Zhang Ningna. To add further variety, Dong Xiaomeng, a mezzo-soprano and graduate from Xian Conservatory of Music, performs with the ensemble.

Most of the members of the ensemble are from an area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Jiangnan), so instinctively the ensemble inherits the musical style Jiangnan Sizhu from this region. For instance, when playing traditional pieces, the musicians in the ensemble have more freedom for improvisation and ornamentation. However, improvisation is limited to a certain extent simply because a musical score needs to be followed more or less strictly. Whilst improvising, the musicians have to consider keeping the smoothness in the horizontal melodic movement of their parts, maintain the vertical texture, and coordinate it harmoniously with the other instruments. Hence improvisation is technically quite difficult and ornamentation has therefore gained more importance in performance. With ornamentation, especially when playing traditional pieces, each musician will play to the others. While one features, the others will remain soft, and while one plays more ornamentation, the others will perform only simple ornaments. These then are the features of Jiangnan Sizhu style.

Another feature is seen in traditional pieces, where normally the ensemble repeats its melody line with the different instruments, and re-ornaments it according to the expertise of the musician and nature of the instrument. For example, Purple Bamboo (Zizhudiao), as played by the ensemble, is repeated four times. The dizi plays in a high register, using more semiquavers and more syncopation; in the following repetition of the piece the erhu plays, one register lower, and uses more slides. The sound of the dizi is resonant, while the sound of the erhu is soft, making an obvious contrast. The sheng follows the erhu part and repeats the melody with fewer notes, and in some cases uses chords. As a result, even though the melody is repeated several times, it is not monotonous. Most musicians in the ensemble perform with a graceful and exquisite style, which is a distinguishing feature of Jiangnan style.

With informal performances, a fixed program usually does not exist, and more ensemble pieces are played. For instance, when playing at a restaurant, the ensemble only provides background music, and ensemble pieces are ideal. At small festivals, where there isn't a fixed audience, the next piece played usually depends on the reaction of the crowd. For instance, the ensemble may play a soft piece to gain more interest, or play loud music to override a noisy crowd. If many people appear as if they are going to leave, the ensemble will usually try to play an exciting piece to draw the audience's attention back. Anyone in the ensemble may suggest a piece to play, although the format is usually determined by the leader with occasional advise from the dizi player (a main melody instrument player). The leader incorporates experience, technique, and social skills to determine the format of performance relevant to each occasion.

The ensemble's routine for a formal performance is to play more solo pieces and fewer ensemble pieces. The reasons are as follows: firstly, since there are only 5 or 6 musicians in the ensemble, some parts may appear weak. For instance, the bass line sometimes may not be sufficient. Secondly, it is not always possible to rely on all ensemble members to be present at a performance, due to each individual's work and family commitments. It is very difficult to play standard ensemble pieces when someone is absent. Thirdly, ensemble pieces require more emphasis on cooperation by each musician, which can only be achieved through more frequent rehearsals, which are seldom possible due to the reasons previously mentioned. One advantage of playing more solo pieces is the increased flexibility in performance. With solos, the accompanying parts are less important compared with ensemble piece parts. Solos emphasise the musician's individual standard, rather than cooperation with other musicians. Therefore, less coordinated rehearsal time is required for this type of performance. Since each member of the ensemble is of the highest calibre, playing solos gives full play to each musician's expertise and does not compromise the standard of the overall performance. < p> At performances, the Australian Chinese Music Ensemble usually provide solos by wind instruments, such as the dizi, bawu, kuodi, hulusi, sheng and lusheng. Solos are also provided by the two-stringed bowed instrument erhu, and by the plucked and struck stringed instruments such as pipa, ruan, zheng and yangqin. The range of the ensemble's repertoire incorporates traditional Chinese music, contemporary Chinese music and adopted foreign music.

An Experiment with Australian Musicians

As part of a Western society, the ensemble has the opportunity to experiment with Western musicians and composers. In the 1994 Music Round, Jeffrey Crellin, the principle oboist in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, was invited to participate in an ensemble's performance. In the author's opinion, Jeffrey's oboe enriched the sound quality of the ensemble, particularly in New Gold Mountain. Although the piece was originally composed using all Chinese musical instruments, Jeffrey used his experience to augment feeling for the music. For instance, he used the oboe to imitate the melody played by the erhu and used tempo variations, which made the piece more impressive. His interpretation of this piece helped the ensemble to become familiar with how Western musicians approach music, and the experience enhanced the cohesiveness of the group, when both rehearsing and performing. Jeffrey was particularly interested in New Gold Mountain more than any other Chinese piece he played when with the ensemble, possibly because this piece was composed by a Western composer.

New Gold Mountain was composed by George Dreyfus for the Australian Chinese Music Ensemble, and was later incorporated in a recording with the ensemble in the making of a DAT master tape at the SBS radio station. This piece combined both Eastern and Western musical aspects. The Western aspect was Dreyfus's natural ability as a Western composer. Dreyfus played his Western bassoon, yet this was accompanied by the Eastern sheng. The blend of Eastern instrumentation and ornamentation, together with Western composition and instruction, provided a unique experience. Over recent years the composer has had a close interest in Chinese culture, and has even conducted a symphony orchestra in China. The enthusiasm for experimentation was quite evident in the ensemble's associations with Dreyfus, as was experienced during his instructions at rehearsals and in other activities. Dreyfus's experimentation with Eastern musical aspects, was quite evident, and clearly noticable in some of his interpretations of musical pieces.

Firstly, Dreyfus is a wind instrument player, and his interest in wind instruments was exemplified in experimentations with musical phrases written for the sheng (another wind instrument), when in rehearsal with the Australian Chinese Music Ensemble, and in composing New Gold Mountain. Further development of this interest was demonstrated in his piece composed for the didgeridoo with a symphony orchestra, and in his use of wind instruments from different nations, including the souna, in a symphony orchestra piece. Secondly, to consider the composer's instructions during rehearsal, Dreyfus requested each member of the ensemble to ornament their parts in the piece. For instance, the dizi added more decoration notes, the sheng and zheng filled the gap in a long note, and the erhu used more slides. Through each musician's decoration, the Chinese aspects of the piece were reinforced.

Through cooperation with Jeffrey Crellin and George Dreyfus, the ensemble has obtained some experience with Western musicians and their involvement with Chinese music. A special benefit of this cooperative experience reinforced the ensemble's orientation towards an amalgamation of Western and Eastern musical aspects.

Various Specific Contexts of Ensemble Performances

The ensemble's main activities include performing in the media, at festivals and for special occasion entertainment, and at universities. The ensemble performs for both profit and non-profit occasions. However, as most of the performances are for professional purposes, payments usually follow the rates of the Musicians Union. Non-profitable performances include fund-raising and charity events, promotions for Chinese cultural events, and promotions for building up the identity of the ensemble in the general community. The ensemble also assists other Chinese music groups by playing at their performances. Some of these people have reciprocated in giving valuable aid to the ensemble in the past.

Voluntary performances are usually quite difficult to carry out. The musicians in the ensemble have different working commitments, and to ask for release to attend a performance is often difficult, especially as it is done with the knowledge that no compensation of fees for the performance will be received. Sometimes the nature of voluntary performances may be quite ambiguous. Frequently then, the leader of the ensemble will go by himself to perform to avoid possible misunderstandings, or possible devaluation of the professional reputation of the ensemble.

In the ensemble's experience, performing within the Chinese community is much more difficult than performances for the general community. A major reason for this difference relates to the values of those Chinese that head the organising committees that the ensemble needs to negotiate with. These people are usually not from mainland China. They seem more likely to maintain the older more traditional ideas towards Chinese music and Chinese musicians. For this reason, and for reasons of promoting and creating its own style of music, the ensemble focuses on exposure within the general community, taking advantage of being in a Western society, and therefore avoids the disadvantages and restrictions of performing within, and associating with, mainstream Chinese culture.

The ensemble has frequently been recorded by ABC Music Deli. It has performed on ABC National Radio, ABC Radio Australia, SBS Radio, and on 3ZZZ Radio. The ensemble has also performed on SBS Television and on Channel Ten's Good Morning Australia.

The ensemble has performed at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Melbourne (1989), the Melbourne International Festival (1989-1993), the Launceston Festival (1990, 1991), the First Chinese International Arts Festival (1991), the Australian Festival of Asian Arts (1992), the Bendigo Easter Fair (1992-1994), the Port Fairy Folk Festival (1993, 1994), the World of Music Festival in Brisbane (1994), the Melbourne Moomba Festival (1994, 1995) and at the Melbourne Chinese Spring Festival in Chinatown (1989-1995). More recently the group played at an Australian Citizenship ceremony (February, 1995), attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration, played a two week season at the Crown Casino to coincide with the Chinese New Year (1995, Year of the Pig), and performed at the National Folk Festival in Canberra (Easter, 1995). The Australian Chinese Music Ensemble holds a contract with Event Enterprises for promotion and performances throughout 1995.

The ensemble has performed at the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Latrobe University, RMIT, and Deakin University. In 1993, with musicians from Sydney, they played at the Australia National University in Canberra.

With the financial support of the Australia Council and the Victorian Ministry for the Arts, the ensemble's first self supporting concert was held in Melba Hall at The University of Melbourne (9th and 16th of August 1992). Approximately 130 people attended this first concert and about 70% were Asian. For the second concert there were approximately 150 people and about 40% were Asian. In 1994 the ensemble obtained other grants from the Australia Council and the Myer Foundation to set up performances at the Music in the Round Festival. The audience reached approximately 300 at one of these performances and more than 95% were estimated to be of Anglosaxon origins.

Summary

The Australian Government's approach to the immigration question swayed community attitudes and policies toward ethnic groups and thus indirectly influenced the development of Chinese music in Australia over the years. In the 1950s and 1960s the White Australia Policy severely limited immigration, and as a result of community attitudes, existing Chinese residents remained in segregated communities. The language barrier further polarised communities. The further consequence of the White Australia Policy severely limited the potential to 'import' quality musicians. Musically, the lack of integration of cultures stifled the acceptance of Chinese music in the general community.

The development of the Chao Feng Chinese Orchestra, one of the biggest Chinese orchestras in Australia, at first was mainly influenced by musicians from Hong Kong. In more recent times the further development of the orchestra was greatly aided by professional musicians from mainland China. Accordingly, the Chao Feng Chinese Orchestra has the significance of being a pioneer for introducing Chinese concert music to the general community. Thus, since the Australian policy towards China has become more enlightened, the opportunities for people in Australia to become more interested in Chinese culture has been greatly enhanced.

In modern times, The Australian Chinese Music Ensemble is an example of a professional ensemble with a high standard of performance. Its activities are integrated with both the Chinese community and the general community in Australia. The ensemble has performed extensively in Victoria but also in Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT, and has recently accepted an invitation to perform in Taiwan. The ensemble's overall musical success, and its current aim to integrate with Western composers and musicians, may be seen as a valid path that other ethnic music groups may wish to follow.

• The Gangzhou Society Cantonese Opera Group
  
• The Chao Feng Chinese Orchestra